LEITH Links. Brutal battleground of the 16th century, historic home of golf in the 17th.

But for Leigh Griffiths in the late 20th, it was a haven.

Where it all began for a seven-year-old and his dad out for a walk and their weekend fix of football.

And where one man changed his life.

It’s a story told a million times across the world – that first opportunity to put a ball at your feet, feel the grass under your studs, to sense the camaraderie of a team around you, to build lifelong friendships and understand what you’re prepared to sacrifice for the guy standing next to you.

To put your first foot on the stairway to football heaven.

None of which happens without the men and women the Grassroots Awards have long honoured. The soul of Scottish football lies in its volunteers, those who are first to the park and last away. Those who line the pitches, drive the minibuses, wash the kit, organise the refs, raise the funds, coach the teams, open doors, include the excluded, put arms round shoulders and feet up backsides.

But who never ask for anything in return other than the smile on a kid’s face and the knowledge that they’re providing a platform for communities to grow and children to discover their value in life.

Griffiths, more than maybe most pros his age, needed these mentors.

Not for him the cosseted surroundings of an academy from an early age, with every advantage given.

Leigh Griffiths (Image: James Williamson)

Instead he worked his way to the top the old-fashioned way, through three boys’ clubs, all of whom played their part in his eventual arrival at the top of the game.

And few appreciate the leg up he was given more.

“Me and my dad used to go along to Leith Links on a Saturday and a Sunday, to watch the under-12s, 13s, whoever was playing,” he said.

“I remember one Sunday he said to me: ‘Right, let’s go and see who’s on.’

“We were walking along the park when a guy came up and told us the under-sevens were struggling for bodies, they were a boy short.

“He didn’t need to ask. I played for them and scored two. That was my introduction to Leith Athletic and I was there until I was 13.

“The guy who had asked my dad if I could play was called Brian Devlin but my coach was Tam Currie.

“He was the dad of Lee Currie, who was at Hibs when he was younger and went on to Berwick Rangers.

“Lee is playing with Newtongrange Star in the juniors now. He had one of the best left feet I’d ever seen, he was brilliant. Only a bad injury when he was younger stopped him doing more in the game.

“Anyway, Tam stayed with us all the way through, stuck with the same squad of boys right up the age groups. He was always the first guy in, last guy out.

“He was the heart and soul of Leith Athletic to me. We had a close-knit team. We were mainly all Leith boys and as we grew up, moving from seven-a-sides to 11s, we got more lads in. But Tam was always at the heart of it. He did everything he could to help us and it wasn’t easy for him dealing with us sometimes.

“Tam taught us about a lot more than football though. People always talk about having values and he was like that. He was hard but fair.

“He gave guys a chance to play and if he had faith in you as a person, he’d put you in the team regardless of who you were or where you came from.

“I still see him to this day and still appreciate what he did for all of us.”

Speaking before the Scottish Cup Final in 2013, when Griffiths was still a Hibs player, Currie said: “With quite a few of the laddies I was like a social worker to them as well as their coach.

Leigh Griffiths with Hibs (Image: Alan Harvey/SNS Group)

“A lot came from broken homes, some used football as their escape. Leigh was one of those. I would sometimes pick him up and take him to training and he was always waiting, watching at the window, desperate to get to training or get to a game.

“There was a bit of boyish daftness about him but he was a kind laddie.”

Inverness gaffer John Hughes tells the story of scouting Griffiths on his home patch of Leith when he was boss of Falkirk, and taking him on.

Hughes laughed and said: “I love him. He was a Leith boy like me and I liked the fact he was playing for Tam and his local team. He was a lovable rogue, getting into all sorts, and he got sent off the day I went to see him, for falling out with one of his team-mates, believe it or not!

“And I thought: ‘That’ll do me!’ I put my arm round him to give him some words of wisdom, told him he had all the tools in his locker, that he just had to learn.

“He was a natural, scored all kinds of goals, and that never leaves you.”

But despite the chance to play in one of the most successful academy set-ups in the country, Griffiths was soon back in the bosom of his own community and being inspired by a fresh set of mentors.

He revealed: “I actually loved it at Falkirk but it was too hard for me at that age to get there.

“My last game for them was at Inverness on a Sunday. I had to get the train up at 7.30am, got home at 11.30pm and I was at school the next day.

“I was 13 and my dad didn’t drive at the time so it was too hard and dad wanted me to concentrate on school.

“I did actually get a game at school as well, right enough. Not at primary but I started playing at Portobello High the first two years I was there before I moved to Leith Academy and we had a really good team there.

“It was a Mr Green who took us. He was a history teacher, and we were unlucky to lose in the quarter-finals of the Scottish. I always thought we had a good chance to win it because we had a good team.”

John Collins and Leigh Griffiths both played for Hutchison Vale

Griffiths wasn’t short of offers to resume his youth career on his own doorstep – and he admits he was back in his comfort zone.

The striker said: “That’s the beauty of local football – but it needs guys to be there for you.

“I spent a year with Inch Colts in Gilmerton, which was only 15 minutes up the road, then I made the step up to Hutchie Vale.

“I enjoyed where I was but I also knew that Hutchie was a step up for me and that they got a lot of scouts to their games because they were one of the most successful clubs in the country for producing players. You name an Edinburgh player, chances are they came through there.

“But the thing is, they’re the same as every other boys club when incomes down to it – they’re still run by volunteers.

“When I was at Hutchie it was mainly Tam Smith, who’s still driving them on after 30 years, auld Harry Ferguson and Jimmy Stanton, Pat’s cousin.

“Harry will be in his 80s now and Jimmy won’t be far behind him, probably in his late 70s.

“Jimmy was always at training, never missed a session, never missed one of the games. I still see him in the street now, he lives close to my mum and when you talk to him, you can tell how much he still loves the game

“Without guys like that now, there’s no pathway into football.

“With teams like Celtic having kids coming in to the professional system so young through their academies and the performance schools and the like, the boys clubs have had it hard but they’re still a huge part of a kid’s development. As they should be.

“And you can’t imagine Hutchie Vale without Tam Smith, just as you can’t imagine Leith Athletic without Tam Currie.”

Smith was recognised by the Grassroots Award judges seven years ago for his contribution to the game in Edinburgh, scooping our prestigious Youth Award in 2009 and receiving it on stage from Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish.

He got involved with the Edinburgh institution all the way back in 1986 – and the pathway Griffiths finally followed is one that is familiar to him for good reason.

Because any boy who leaves his club leaves it with all they tools they need for life beyond it, irrespective of the level they find in football.

For the kid they called Sparky that level was the top – eventually.

He made the step into senior football with Livingston, making his debut at 16, before his goalscoring exploits earned him moves to Dundee then Wolves.

Two prolific seasons on loan at boyhood heroes Hibs followed before Neil Lennon brought him to Celtic in 2014 only for off-field issues to raise questions about his future.

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths gives his shirt to a fan

However, under Ronny Deila, Griffiths has put those problems well behind him and is now making headlines for all the right reasons this season as he bids to break the 53-goal mark set by Henrik Larsson in 2000/2001.

His scoring record is breathtaking, hitting his first 50 with the club in just 84 appearances, less time than it took Larsson or any other prolific Hoops scorer since Charlie Nicholas. He sat on 35 for the season heading into the weekend and is now chasing the league record set by Larsson and Brian McClair.

Despite the success, though, he has never lost sight of where he came from or forgotten the role his father James played in helping him fall in love with football.

As a dad himself, the Celtic striker is now acutely aware of four-year-old son Rhys being on the brink of wanting to take his own first steps in the game.

The striker can often be seen at Celtic Park in the twilight after games having a kick about with his kids on the park and grinning at the thought, he said: “He’s dying to play – I will get him involved somewhere soon.

“For the moment he’s just battering balls about the house and garden – too many in the house actually – he’s lethal!

“And he goes in a bit of a mood with me if I ever take the ball off him– he hasn’t quite got the team ethic yet! That’s why I’m taking my time with him.

Leigh Griffiths and Ronny Deila

“But I know I’ll be looking for the same type of guys who led me to help him and hopefully he listens to everything they’re saying.

“At that age for your kids you want to see guys in charge who know that enjoying the game is the most important thing for a kid.

“My big brother Mark took a kids team for Leith Athletic as a volunteer as well. He had played for Dundee United and Meadowbank and he enjoyed the coaching. He got it.

“But then I like what my dad James did with me too. He took me to watch, understand the game, enjoy it, appreciate it, and gave me good advice.

“I can see myself doing that in the future. It’s funny, I’ve thought about whether I could ever be a manager and I doubt it but I do think I could maybe take a kids’ team. I’ve seen how much good can be done through the game.

“It’s harder now, right enough. Hard to get kids away from playing their phones and their Xboxes.

“In my day you’d walk about with a ball under your arm, chap a mate’s door and say: ‘You coming out?’ We never had phones or anything.

“Too many cannae be bothered now, you see them glued to the games. They’d rather have their mates round to play FIFA than actually play real football.

“But thankfully as long as there are Tam Smiths and Tam Curries in Edinburgh, we’ll be fine.”